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BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE

THE THEME: Share 5 problems/concerns/worries that you face everyday and why accompanied with a 'blueprint' on how it could be solved/changed.

This is a great thought provoking contest, and I'm really all charged up.

We are all aware that things are not going right around us. We are simply helpless at the situation that exists in our mighty country that we are so fortunate to be born in, yet are so hellbent on not valueing it and giving it the respect that it deserves by our collective actions. All the newspapers/news channels are filled with headlines thats shocks and horrifies us every single day. The system is so corrupt with major chunk of the corrupt people being those in power and controlling the overall game. Hence, we the common people are getting frustrated by the day.

The list is quiet long but here are my 5 immediate concerns and a blueprint of their solutions for a solid change for a better India. Hope they gets implemented at the earliest.

1. SPREAD EDUCATION : This is one major concern why we are lagging behind the rest of the world. Lack of proper education = Large scale ignorance.
Education donot mean simply learning to read or write, but it is mainly knowledge. And knowledge is power. When people are educated they become aware of their rights, whats going on in the country and can choose a system that is right and not continue being brainwashed by cunning, selfish people who uses them for their own benefit.

My Blueprint for change is - try to educate people and make people aware of their rights. If each one of us takes steps to educate the unfortunate ones near us, it will solve the problem to a great extent in the long run. We can start right at our homes. Many of us have drivers,maids,watchman etc or poorer relatives,neighbours. We can help in their education and or can even sponsor their children with basic education if they are not able to afford.
Outside of home, we see many street children etc. We can approach their parents to send them to govt/municipalty or certain NGO affiliated schools where fees are very less or even free in some cases and also make the parents aware that education is really important for them too. They may show disinterest but we should be able to convince them for their own good.
Educated India will certainly be a Better India to live in.

2. SAFETY FOR WOMEN : As I grew up ( esp in school days ) I used to face lots of eves-teasing etc from boys in the locality. They used to make life hell not just for me but for other girls too by passing cheap comments, whistling etc. It was a helpless situation because I was quite afraid to scold them so except for telling my parents there was little else that I could do.
As I grew up further I started seeing more and more news of violence and crimes against women. It was a shocking eye-opener for me at what goes on in this world. Rape, Molestation, Acid attacks, Dowry deaths etc it used to scare the hell out of me and I wondered why people behaved the way they did? Whats worse is, very often those committing these heinous crimes used to be a family member or known ones of the victims.
In a country where womanhood is worshipped in the form of Durga,Saraswati,Laxmi we have a totally contrasting situation where they are treated so badly as well.

My Blueprint for change is - for all the womenfolk to become Maa Kaali and spread fear amongsts these culprits who has made life hell for women. We women, need to be strong both mentally and physically. We should give our young girl child self-defence lessons so that they can punch and kick the hell out of any eve-teasers/rapists and anyone who sees girls as merely sex objects.
Moreover,time has come for really strict laws to punish those culprits hence all women must be united and keep the pressure on and demand justice till the law is implemented.
Safety of women is also ensuring that a girl child is allowed to be born in this world and not killed at birth.

3. PRESERVE OUR RESOURCES : We are fast depleting our resources. Be it water, food etc we waste so much stuff everyday. Granted that we are the fortunate ones and can afford life's luxuries but there are millions out there who cannot afford even a basic meal. Millions go starving without proper hygiene.
Moreover, if we waste resources what will the future generation survive upon?

My Blueprint for change is - STOP being so selfish, so self-centred! This earth and its resources doesnt belong only to us, it belongs to everyone and everyone here means the poor as well as the future generations too. So, stop the waste.
Save water, save petrol, save other precious resources, donot waste food. Let these not be just slogans but real actions.

4. COMBAT CORRUPTION : Our system is such that it makes each one of us corrupt in some way or the other. So dont just blame the politicians. We vote them for selfish reasons too. We first need to look at ourselves at how corrupt we are.
Right from office peon, gas delivery man, postman to those in higher ranks in a govt office, everyone want bribe/bakshish to get your work done. Initially they just used to give hints for 'chai-paani' but gradually it became a habit and now they started demanding it or says fearlessly to get the work done by someone else.

My Blueprint for change is - for this we really need a strong lokpal bill. Even though the Anna Movement went kaput I've not stopped believing in the fight against corruption. I also strongly believe that we need to keep its flame burning, not just by continuing to demand implementation of the strong lokpal but also combat corruption personally at all levels.
We shouldnot expect,accept or give bribes. It is the need of the hour to kill our inner greed that includes voting for TV, cash or alchohol ( which happens frequently due to lack of education ).
If all of us control our greed where will the demon called corruption run?

5. SPREAD HUMANITY : We have seen enough of killings of fellow human for reasons like caste, religion etc . Enough is enough. What are those religions which divide mankind into believers and nonbelievers? Caste which originally meant different professions now has come to be identified with birth.
How can human beings who came from the same Almighty having same red blood, soul be divided to such various groups that we have become mortal enemies of each other?
Human beings are perhaps the only species in this world who kill their own species so brutally. We make nuclear weapons to wipe each other out.
What must be God thinking above when he sees the mess we've made for ourselves? All these needs to stop and urgently so.

My Blueprint for change is - stop the hatred. As parents or teachers we shouldnot differentiate and sow seeds of divisions in the minds of innocent children. So that when they grow up they dont identify themselves as belonging to a particular religion, caste, race etc.
However, as long as we have admission forms be it for school, job, passport etc requiring for us to fill these dividing columns, it seems a very difficult if not impossible task. But we have to start somewhere.
And moreover, since we are fortunate enough to live in such a technologically advanced world, it has now become so much easier for all the religious leaders to promote better understanding and spread the religion of humanity.
We see the internet is flooded with millions of 'my religion is better than yours websites', brainwashing the youth further when instead technology can be used for positivity, healing and diminishing religious differences.
More and more all inclusive websites or information should be spread taking the good of each religions and discarding the bad with the consent from all world religious and political leaders so that this menace of differentiation can be defeated.
India is a country of multiple faiths, hence we can set an example for the rest of the world.

Politicians in a corruption free, educated world will also not be able to use religions and castes as trump cards to garner votes.